Damper for open fireplaces



(No Model.)

E.v J. SMITH. DlMPBR POR GPBN FIREPLAGBS.

Patented Oot.8, 1895.

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ELIAS J. SMITH, OF GERMANO, OHIO.

DAIVIPER FOR OPEN FIREPLACES.

SPIECIFICATION forming part of Letters.y Patent No. 547,567, datedOctober 8, 1895.

Application filed July 27, 1895. Serial No. 557,362 (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ELIAS J. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Germano, in the county of Harrison and State of Ohio, haveinvented a new and useful vDamper for Open Fireplaces, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in dampers for grates and openfireplaces, and has for its object to provide a novel and efficientconstruction of sliding damper superposed above an open grate andprovided with an inclined front constituting a deflector for reversingthe downward currents of air passing down through the flue and directingthe same upward, thus preventing said air-cur rents from ejecting orpuffing smoke out of the fireplace into the room. This sliding damperalso provides for adj usting the amount of draft, and its position maybe regulated to suit the conditions of the weather, as will hereinafterappear.

In order to accomplish the objects above enumerated, the inventionconsists in certain novel features and details of construction andarrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in thedrawings, and finally embodied in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a sectional perspective view ofan open grate, illustrating the application of the improved damperthereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section. Fig. 3 is a detailperspective View of the top plate of the fireplace. Fig. 4 is a similarview of the sliding damper.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in theseveral figures of the drawings.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, l designates an open fireplace,having arranged therein a coal-grate 2 lof any ordinary description. Theside and rear walls of this fireplace may be built up of any desiredmaterial, such as brick or tiling, and are constructed in such manner asto leave rearwardly-declining ledges upon the side walls, as indicatedat 3, and a corresponding ledge on the rear wall, as shown at 4. Uponthe ledges thus formed is arrangeda top plate 5, which snugly fills thespace within the chimney or flue, so as to beretained in place upon saidledges, and said plate has its front portion or edge cut away, asindicated at 6, to form a draft and smoke aperture through which theproducts of combustion may pass upward. u

This top plate is further provided upon its side edges withvertically-proj ecting guidingribs .7, between which is arranged atransversely-movable damper 8. The damper Sis substantially L'shaped incross-section, comprising a substantially horizontal but slightlyinclined base portion, which rests upon the upper face ofthe top plate,and an upwardlyprojecting flange 9, which is preferably formedintegrally with the base and is arranged at the front vedge thereof, asshown. This front ange 9 is given a slightly-rearward inclination inorder to allow the products of combustion to pass in front of the samewhen the damper is drawn forward, and said flange 9 also performs thefunction of a deflector and operates to reverse the downwardair-currents and deflect the same in such manner as to cause saidcurrents to pass upward again. Thus the air-currents are prevented frompassing through the cut-away portion of the top plate and puffing thesmoke from the fireplace into the adjoining room. l0 designates an eyeby means of which the damper may be moved transversely with the aid ofan ordinary poker.

The damper above described forms a novel and effective means fordeflecting or reversing the air-currents passing downwardly through achimney or ue and prevents such currents from entering the fireplace andejecting the smoke therefrom into the adjoining room. The damper is alsocapable of being readily adjusted to suit the varying conditions of theweather and also performs the usual function of regulating the amount ofdraft for the proper combustion of the material in the grate. A

It will be apparent that the form of the top plate, the size of thesmoke passage therein and the size and shape of the' transverselymovabledamper, and other changes in the form, proportion, and minor details ofconstruction maybe resorted to without departing from the spirit orsacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent, is-

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tion constituting a deflector for the purpose specified, in combinationwith a top plate upon which said damper slides, said top plate beingsuperposed above the lireplace and provided with a smoke and air passageadapted to be partially or wholly covered by the damper, substantiallyas and for the purpose described. In testimony that I claim theforegoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presenceof two witnesses.

ELIAS J. SMITH. \Vitnesses:

E. P. HELLER, L. B. CROSKEY.

